208 CELEBES. [chap. 



trade out of our hands in the Chinese ports and in man}' of oui- 

 colonies, but he does not confine himself to the British flag. After 

 leaving Batavia not an Englishman is to be found in the whole of 

 the Netherlands India, but there are Germans at almost every 

 settlement. Although personally often the best of friends with 

 the Dutch, the latter have, nationally, the strongest feeling against 

 them, and the subject is one upon which every Hollander is ready 

 to dilate ad libitum. 



The Gorontalo Eiver drains the Limboto Lake, and has a course 

 of barely a dozen miles before reaching the sea. We had a gTeat 

 wish to see the lake, and accordingly started early one morning for 

 that purpose. Leaving the harbour, the road leads northward 

 through the curious ditch-like vaUey to the town, and then emerges 

 on to a level plam of considerable extent, which is surrounded on 

 all sides by mountains. Looking back, the deep gully appears to 

 be almost equally well marked from this side, and it is evident 

 that in past times the whole plain was a vast lake, of which it 

 formed the outlet. "VVe crossed a small affluent of the Gorontalo, 

 and in another mile or two reached the east end of the lake. It is 

 a fine sheet of water about seven miles long, but apparently of no 

 great depth. The water is muddy and of a peculiar pinkish colour, 

 and the shores are bordered by reeds in which there was an 

 abundance of wild-fowl. Our time, unfortunately, was too Imiited 

 to permit us to pay much attention to these, or to ^-isit some hot 

 springs which are said to exist at the north end of the lake, 

 but we obtained a few characteristic birds at our embarking and 

 landing places. The most conspicuous was a Stilt {Himantopus 

 leucocephcdus), which occurred in some abundance, stalking about in 

 the sandy ooze far more gracefully than, from its gigantic length of 

 leg, would be thought possible. A beautiful Jacana {Hydrcdedor 

 gallinaceus) with a reddish-yellow comb — also an native of Australia 

 — fell to our guns, and we found the handsome purple Coot 

 {Porplujrio indicus) common in the reeds. Had we been able 

 to stay in the neighbourhood we might, no doubt, have added 



